Hammer-peg board



Sept. 26, J, MORRlSON HAMMER-PEG BOARD Filed Oct. l1, 1949 20 /ff E l 1 7/ 1; ||y f /6 v' f f1 Ul /8 D T 2 Y Afr D l' /6/ F- t /41 v /4 "/6 'INI/ENTOR. Jo//A/ Moe/2 /5 0^/ ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 26, 195() unirse srA'rEs PATENT OFFICE HAMMER-PEG BOARD .lohn Morrison, Sugar Hill, N. H.

Application October 11, 1949, Serial No. 120,618

9 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to an improvement in the construction of a hammer-peg board whereby a much greater useful life is imparted to such toys.

YThe type of toy in which a peg or the like is adapted to be hammeredthrough a hole has been in widespread use for an exceedingly long period of time. These toys, suitable for use by very young children, not only provide considerable enjoyment but also serve an important educational function in teaching manual dexterity and in leading the child to differentiate between various colors. In its conventional form, such a toy comprises a wooden board supported above a table or the like and having an aperture through which a wooden peg of approximately the same size as the aperture is adapted to be driven. Since the purpose of the toy would be destroyed if the peg were to be freely passable through the aperture, it therefore must be made slightly larger than the aperture so that it will be frictionally held within the aperture until it is hammered therethrough. Consequently, considerable friction is engendered between the peg and the internal surfaces of the aperture. It has been proposed in the past to provide kerfs running longitudinally of the pegs in order to render them somewhat more compressiblabut these kerfs not only militate against the pleasing appearance of the pegs and fail to completely solve the problems involved, but are also only usable with relatively large pegs, since if kerfs are attempted to be cut into small pegs, the pegs will become much too fragile. Even when kerfs are put in large pegs, the friction involved in driving the pegs through the board is still considerable. A

Another disadvantage of the prior art which obtains whether or not kerfs are employed is the fact that Wood tends to shrink or expand in conformity to climatic conditions,l and the degree of shrinkage or expansion depends upon the particular piece of wood in question. Accord-V ingly even if thev pegs are initially manufactured to very precise dimensions, during warm, moist weather they have been found to expand sunlciently so that they can be driven through the board only with the utmost diiculty. Indeed, a given peg may be usable in a warm, dry house but unusable when the self-same toy is taken into a outdoor playpen in damp Weather. It must also be borne in mind that whether or not kerfs are employed, the constant wood-to-wood frictional sliding will, in time, serve to 4enlarge the holes and reduce the diameter of the pegs so that the toy soon becomes worthless.

Another prime disadvantage of the conventional type of hammer-peg board derives from the fact that the irictional forces between the peg and the interior surfaces of the aperture are so great that considerable force must be applied to the peg to drive it through the aperture. As a result, a comparatively heavy hammer must be provided, which hammer is diiiicult for an infant to handle. Hence, the age at which a child can use a toy of this type is delayed until he is able to handle and accurately manipulate a relatively heavy hammer. Moreover, the `presence of a relatively heavy hammer in a childsV hand constitutes a menace to surrounding objects, the propensity of children forv hammering on any and all objects lwithin their reach being Well known. In addition', a peg which is hard for the child to drive through the board will prove to be a source of frustration to the child and consequently will prevent him from obtaining the amusement and educational benets of the toy.

The use of a heavy hammer and the necessity that the pegs be given a resounding blow by such a hammer in order for them to be driven through the apertures of conventional toys of this type make the use of such toys extremely noisy. Each blow must be hard and loud and when they come rapidly they can be exceedingly annoying, particularly if a number of children are playing with similar toys at the same time.

The present invention has as its prime object the provision of a hammer-peg board of the general type under discussion which avoids the above disadvantages. In particular, the present invention provides for longer life of the toy, eliminates the elfects resulting from shrinkage or expansion ofthe pegs, requires the use of but a very light hammer, may therefore be effec tively played with by even younger children than has previously been the case, and is much quieter in operation. All of these desiderataJ and such others as may hereinafter appear are achieved by utilizing a peg holding member having an aperture in Which the peg is frictionally received and through which the peg is adapted to be driven, said peg holding member being formed of some soft deformable material, such as rubber or felt, which will hold the peg in any given position with a minimum of force so that light taps from a small light hammer will be suiiicient to drive the peg through the aperture without any undesirable effects on the peg. The peg holding member may be used alone, but it is preferred to rigidity that member by utilizing in conjunction therewith a rigid member such as the wooden board of the conventional type of peg-hammer board, the aperture in the Wooden board being larger than the peg so that the peg will pass freely therethrough without making any frictional contact with the inner surfaces of the aperture in the wooden board.

It is another object of the present invention to devise a peg-hammer board which is attractive in appearance, inexpensive to manufacture, and durable under the rough treatment to which it is usually subjected by children.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing advantages and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a hammer-peg board as dened in the appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top View of present invention; V

vFi g. 2 is a front cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view thereof.

The hammer-peg board of the present invention comprises a support generally designated A onV which is mounted a peg holding member generally designated B having an aperture C therethrough in which a peg D is received with a rfrictional nt, the peg being adapted to be driven therethrough. The peg holding member Bis of some soft deformable material so that the lpeg D, slidable therethrough, is held in a given position 'with a minimum of force, the peg D therefore being drivable through the aperture C by the application thereto of relatively light taps.

In the preferred form here disclosed, the peg holding member B is V,positioned between a pair of rigid members E' and F formed of any structural material such as wood or the like, these rigid members E and F rigidifying the peg holding member B and giving to the toy a pleasing and conventional appearance.

As here disclosed, the rigid members E and F' are inftheiform of Wooden sheets or boards, each having a central bodyportion 5 and rim edges 3, the space oneaoh-board between the trim edges vdenin'g aninset portion I2. Each of the rigid members E and F are provided with apertures .|12 and the rigid members 'E `and F are secured together with their rim edges 8 in contact and with theirapertures It Vin registration. The rim edges are provided with registering apertures i6 through which posts'l 8 arepassable, screws 2E passing through the secured-together rigid members E and F into holes 22 appropriately positioned in the posts I8 so Vas to secure the posts I8 in the apertures i5 in non-slidable relationship. The posts I8 thus de'ne the support A for the toy.

. The peg holding member B is positioned between the rigid members E and F, the peg'holding member B having apertures C therein which are smaller than but in registration with the apertures I4 in the rigid members E and F. As here specifically disclosed, the peg holding member B is secured within the inset portions l2 of the rigid members E and F so that its edges are not exposed to view. The peg-holding member B may be formed of any suitable soft deformable material and is preferably of softrubbe'r or some other soft elastic material, but lany other subone embodiment of the tension so as to hold the peg D in any given position with but a minimal amount of force, the peg D therefore being adapted to be hammered through the aperture C upon the application thereto of a light tap rather than a heavy blow and the frictional effect engendered by the forced sliding ofthe peg D through the aperture C being minimal, thus increasing the life of the peg D.

The apertures llt in the body portions of the rigid members E and F' are larger than the apertures C and the pegs D so that the pegs D are freely passable therethrough. Y Y

It is preferred that the lengths of the posts. I8 which deiine the support A` for the toy be so related to the lengths of the pegs D that whenthose pegs are driven from one side of the peg holding member B vto the other a distance such that their bottom edges 24 are Ion a line with the bottom edges 26 of the posts I8, the top edges 28 of the pegs D will project slightly above the top of the uppermost rigid member E -or F. Hence, after all or a desired vnumber of the pegsfD have been driven'through the peg holding member B .to the described degree, the entire toy maybe turned upside down, thus presenting the pegsD in posit tion once again to be hammered.

, tures, thus giving rise to a very strong frictional effect, requiring numerous :and very `heavy blows to be driven therethrough.` lThe .toy of the present invention has all of thevdesirable appearance characteristics ofthe conventional toys of this type, but in its illustrated form` the pegs themselves are not compressed, the .peg holding member B of soft deformable material instead stretching to accommodate the ,passage of the pegs. Because of the characteristics .of the materialof which the peg holdingmember B is constructed, numerous advantages derive. The pegs'nneed not be made to as strict tolerancesjas has vlzieretofore been necessary. The pegs require only light taps and hence a relatively light hammer 3B (shown in broken lines in Fig. ld) need beemployed. vA fewer number of blows are V,necessary to drive a peg completely from one lside to the other, of the device. shrinkage or expansion of the Apegsdoes not present a problem. The combination of light hammer and light taps renders the toy much less noisy when in use than the best of previous toys ci this type. The simplicity of construction of the toy renders it relatively inexpensive to manufacture so 'that a 'toy having "the very marked advantages of the one under discussion can be made ata costsubsta'ntially thesame as the more conventional but less desirable toys of this type.

It will be apparent that m'any departures can be made from the specic'disclosure without lcleparting from the spirit ofthe invention as defined in theappended claims. The sizeand shape of the various parts canbe varied at wilL-th'e particular structure of the `.peg holding member B and-rigidmembers E`and=F may be modified-toa 5 considerable degree, the functions of the various parts may be reversed by utilizing soft yieldablepegsD, rigid unyielding pegs D may be provided .with an outer covering of soft deformable material, and the rigid members E and F may be provided at their apertures with inserts of soft deformablematerial to grasp the pegs D, to mention but a few of the possible modifications.

I claim:

1. A hammer toy comprising a platform having a plurality 0f spaced apertures therethrough, legs on said platform for supporting it above a surface with the axes of said apertures substantially `perpendicular to said surface, and members placeable in said apertures but being slightly larger in cross-section than said apertures so that a frictiorialv connection exists between the. contacting outer surfaces of said members and the inner surfaces of said apertures, said members being adapted to be hammered through said apertures, one of said contacting surfaces being defined by a soft resiliently deformable material, whereby the friction between said members and said apertures when said members are hammered therethrough is minimized.

2. A hammer toy comprising a platform having a plurality of spaced apertures therethrough, legs on said platform for supporting it above a surface with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and members lplaceable in said apertures but being slightly larger in cross-section than said apertures so that a frictional connection exists between the contacting outer surfaces of said members and the inner surfaces of said apertures, said members being adapted to be hammered through said apertures, one of said contacting surfaces being of soft rubber, whereby the friction between said members and said apertures when said members are hammered therethrough is minimized.

3. A hammer toy comprising a, platform having a plurality of spaced apertures therethrough, legs on said platform for supporting it above a surface with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and members placeable in said apertures but being larger in cross-section than said apertures so as to have a frictional fit therein, said members being adapted to be hammered therethrough, one of said platform and said members being of a rubberlike material, whereby the friction between said members and said apertures when said members are hammered therethrough is minimized.

4. A hammer toy comprising a member-holding sheet of soft resiliently deformable material having a plurality of apertures therethrough, legs operatively connected to said sheet for supporting it above a surface with the aXes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface,

and members placeable in said apertures but beporting said platform and said sheet above a sur-- face with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and members placeable in said apertures and having a crosssection smaller than that of the apertures in said platform but slightlylarger than the apertures in said-sheet so as to pass freely through the aper-v tures in said platform and pass through and have a frictional flt in the apertures in said sheet, said `members `being adapted to be hammered through said apertures.

6. A hammer toy comprising a pair of rigid platforms each having a plurality of apertures therethrough, said rigid platforms being secured together close to and one above the other with theirapertures in registration, 9, member-holding sheetof softresiliently deformable material sen cured between said rigid. platforms and having;

apertures therethrough in registration with but smaller thanI the aperturesgin'said rigidplatforrns, legs ,operatively connected to. said'platforms` for supporting them andsaid sheet above Va surface with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and members placeable in said apertures and having a cross-section smaller than that of the apertures in said platforms but slightly larger than the apertures in said sheet so as to pass freely through the apertures in said platforms and pass through and have a frictional t in the apertures in said sheet, said members being adapted to be hammered through said apertures.

7. A hammer toy comprising a pair of rigid platforms each having a plurality of apertures therethrough and one having `an inset portion in which its apertures are formed, said platforms being secured together in contact one above the y other with their apertures in registration and with the inset portion of said one platform directed toward the other platform so as to define a space therebetween, a member-holding element of soft resiliently deformable material in said space between said platforms and having apertures therethrough in registration with but smaller than the apertures in said platforms, legs operatively connected to said platforms for supporting them and said sheet above a surface with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and members placeable in said apertures and having a cross-section smaller than that of the apertures in said platforms but slightly larger than the apertures in said member-holding element so as to pass freely through the apertures in said platforms and pass through and have a frictional fit in the apertures in said member-holding element, said members being adapted to be hammered through said apertures.

8. A hammer toy comprising a pair of platforms each having a body portion and a rim edge, said body portion having a plurality of apertures therethrough, said platforms being secured together one above the other with their apertures in registration and with their rim edges in contact so as to define a space between their body portions, a member-holding element of soft resiliently deformable material secured in said space between the body portions of said platforms and having apertures therethrough in registration with but smaller than the apertures in said platforms, legs operatively connected to said platforms for supporting them and said memberholding element above a surface with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and members placeable in said apertures and having a cross-section smaller than that of the apertures in said platforms but slightly larger than the apertures in said member-holding element so as to pass freely through the apertures atea-ees 7 in said platforms and pass through and have-.a frictional fit in the apertures in said member# holding element, said members being adapted to loeY hammered through said apertures.

9. A hammer toy comprising a rigid platform having an aperture therethrough, 'a 'memberholding element of soft resiliently deformable material secured to said platform and having an aperture therethrough in registration with but smaller than the aperture in said platform, legs operatively connected to said platform for supporting said platform and said element above a surface with the axes of said apertures substantially perpendicular to said surface, and a member plaeeable in said apertures and having a cross-section smaller than that ofthe aperture in said platform but slightly larger than the aperture in said element so as Ato pass freely through the aperture in said platform and pass through and have a frietional t in the aperture in said ng 8 element, said member being adapted to be ham# mered through said apertures.

JOHN MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date '1,291,495 Herberger' Jan. 14, 41919 2,186,277 Tetens Jan. 9, 1940 2,197,975 Fletcher Apr. 23, '1940 2,310,405 Dodge VFeo Y9, 1940 426,326 'rooms Aug. 26, 1947 FGREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Great Britain 1902 

